Upholstered article



May 9, 1933. w.- c. FlsHER UPHOLSTERED ARTICLE Filed Nov.. 25, 1932 2sneets-sheet 2 mvENToR MLU/1N f Patented 'May 9, 1933 UNITED STATESWILLIAM o. mariano! NawJ Yonx; N. in AssIeNoa To w. a J. sLoANE, or NEWYou.

N; Y., A conPomTIoN oF NEW Yoan 'UPHOLSTEBED ARTICLE Application n ledNovember 28, 1932. Serial No. 648,962.

This invention relates to an upholstered article in which the upholsteryis removably secured to a ri id part of the article. More articularly, te invention relates to an u holstered article in which the upholstery isuniformly secured to the article b means of a slide fastener, one sideof whic is firmly held by the rigid art of the article and the otherside of whic is attached to the flexible upholstery material. n

Prior to my invention slide fasteners have been applied to numerous useswhere they have replaced buttons, hooks, clasps, sna fasteners, straps,ties, etc., but in all suc cases the fasteners have been used to close acut or o ening in a flexible material and the slide astener has notheretofore been recognized as a means for securing flexible material toa rigid frame or other rigid portion of an art1cle.

It is a primary object of the present invcntion to provide means ofsecuring up-` holstery to an article such, for examplehas a chair inwhich the part thereof which isto be covered is such as to precludeholding a cover thereon by virtue of its own fit and to which the uholstery must, therefore, be secured. In this aspect the invention isdesigned to carry forward the objects and 0btain the advanta es setforth in my cependinghapplication erial No. 643,961 filed herewit In itsbroader aspect, however, the invention may be applied wherever it isdesired to secure a fiexible material to a rigid portion of an article.l

In the accompanying drawings I have shown several examples of uses andapplications oi. my invention as illustrative of how the invention maybe embodied in practice.'

Figure 1 is a perspective View of the in terior of an automobile tonneauillustrating how the invention may be utilized for removable upholsteryin interiors of automobiles, busses, railway cars, etc.

Figure 2 is a cross section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure l showingiii detail the articular method of attachin the slide astener to therigid frame which is used in this case.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective illustrating the application ofthe invention to an up olstered chair.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing a chair having a sharpercorner.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Fi ure 3showing in detail a method of securing the fastener to the frame.

Figure 6 is a detail view illustrating a modified slide key which may beused in connection with the present invention.

Figure 7 is a View in rear elevation of a theatre chair embed ing thisinvention.

Figure 8 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 8--8 ofFigure 7.

Figure 8a is a vertical section taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Figure 9 is a vertical section through the upper portion of anautomobile seat made according to my invention.

Figure 10 is a vertical section through the upper portion of a frontseat of an automo- Y bile.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2the slide fastener which I prefer to use issimilar to those commonly used for clothin and other purposes where twoedges of a fexible fabric are to be joined together. This may consist,for example as shown in Figures 2, 5 and 6,'of interlocking fastenerelements 10 secured to strips 11 and 12 in spaced relation, thefasteners on the two strips being staggered and being spaced so thatwhen joined together, as shown in Figure 6, the elements on one stripsubstantially completely fill the spaces between the elements on theopposite strip and the projection on each is held in the complementarydepression on `the adjoining element.

Slide fasteners such as these are commonly made up with the elements 10secured to fabric tapes which are tlicn sewed to the materials which areto be joined by the fastener. I may use this standard fastener in myinvention, as shown in Figure 2, merely securing the tape on one side ofthe fastener tothe frame 14, e. g., in the automobile construction shownin Figures 1 and 2, by clamping it between the body frame 14 and aoV ithe window sill 15 or other part. This, of course, is exemplary merelyand other types of slide fastener may be used. If the fabric tape islwide enough to leave a substantial width between'the edge of the rigidmember and the fastener elements 10, thestandard slide key, which iscurved in both directions, as shown for example at 16 1n Figure 3, maybe used. n

Frequently, however, 1t will be desirable to position the fastenerelements close to or even beneath the window sill or other part to whichthey are secured, as shown `for example in Figure 2, so that they willbe mlconspicuous when the removable cover is removed. Thus, for example,where a per'- manent upholstery is secured in the car by themanufacturer and the fasteners are provided for use in attachingtailoredl slip covers for summer driving or for applying additionalupholstery when the original upholstery is soiled, it may beunsatisfactory to have to hide a substantial length of tape beneathbraid or fringe, etc., and in such case substantially onlythe elements10 will be allowed to project from the window sill or braid edge, e. g.,as shown in Figures 2, 9 and 10; and in this case the slide key ispreferably made with one straight side and with one side more sharplycurved than usual, as shown for example in Figure 6.

In the upholstering of furniture it is frequently desired to leave thenatural wood or metal exposed along the tops of the arms or along thefront and sides of the frame, or the entire frame may frequently beexposed, with the upholstery only between the frame members. yIn suchcase the edge of the upholstery is ordinarily finished off against thewood or metal by means of a decorative braid or tape either alone anddesigned to hide the tacks by which it is attacthed, or combined withdecorative nails. In Figures 3, 4 and 5, I have illustrated how myinvention may be applied to the upholstery of such furniture. Ordinarilya groove is provided 'so that the edge of the fabric and of the braid,if such is used, will be hidden in the groove. Following my invention, asimilar groove would be used but maybe somewhat deeper so as toaccommodate the fastening elements 10, and somewhat narrower so that thefastening elements will extend beyond the rigid frame, as shown inFigure 5. In order to provide a neat finish for the edge, it may oftenbe desirable to provide a stiffening strip of a material, e. g.,vulcanized rubber, which, although capable `of yielding to permit theoperation of the slide fastener, will, when released, lie flat andsmooth over the fastener. Thus, for example as shown in Figure 5, afairly wide iinishing strip 17 of this kind is provided, which issecured to the tape 12 of the slide fastener between its ends, as shownat 18.

the nails, screws, etc. must be widely spaced it is fentirely possibleto use, in this case,

a sheet metal strip 11 upon which the elements 10 are pivotally securedso that by being moved in one direction or the other they can allow theinsertion or withdrawal of the complementary elements 10 on the tape 12,as shown, for example, in the dotted lines in Figure 6.

Where, as shown in Figure 3, the corners may be rounded on a substantialradius, it will ordinarily be satisfactory to use a single slidefastener following'around the corner. If this is not permissible,however, and a sharper corner is required, e. g., as shown in Figure 4,I ordinarily prefer to use two separable slide fasteners meeting at thecorner. These fasteners may, for example, be of the type shown inFigures 8, 9 and/or 16 in my copending application Serial No. 643,961and may, as therein disclosed, be made so that the slide key can beentirely removed.

Others of the expedients shown in my said copending application may alsobe used in connection with this invention as, for ex ample, the methodsof hiding the fastener and slide key as shown in Figures 11 to 16 ofsaid application, and the method of providing for tufted cushions asshown in Figures 6 and l0 thereof.

In Figures 7 and 8 I have shown how the invention may be utilized inupholstering the back of a theatre seat.' These seats are ordinarilymade with metal backs 22 so as to avoid wear and soil on the upholsteryfrom scuiing of the shoes of patrons in the seats behind. Theupholsterycommonly extends down along the back for a short distance from the topand the remainder of the back is of metal. I have found that a verysatisfactory upholstery for such a seat may be made by accuratelytailoring the upholstery material to fit the part of the seat which isto be covered. The hood, which is formed by the short portion 20 on theback of the seat, holds the top of the upholstery securely in positionand after the rest of the upholstery has been smoothed into place thebottom edge is drawn beneath the back of the seat and secured by a slidefastener at 21.

The strip 12 on one side of the slide fastener 2l is sewn to the bottomof the upholstery, whereas the strip 11 on the opposite side is clamped,as more clearly shown in Figure 8, vbeneath the sheet metal back 22,which is screwed to the bottom of the back. In this case as in theothers illustrated and described herein, I prefer to clamp the strip l1directly to the rigid portion of the article so as to bring the fasteneras close thereto as possible. In some cases, however, it may bedesirable to position the fastener somewhat farther from therigidelement, in which case a broader tape 11 may be used or the tape may besecured to an intermediate strip. Similarly, in the example shown inFigures 9. and l0, the strip 11 may be sewn tothe edge of theupholsterers tape or braid or other edge-finishing material so that itis indirectly secured to the rigid part through this braid, etc., or itmay extend ous changes and modifications may be made within the scope ofthis invention and each job of upholstering will present minor problemswhich will call for variations in the particular embodiment of theinvention. The present invention oi'ers a broadly new method ofattacking the problem of uphol- .stering 'with youtstanding advantagesand,

regardless of such minor variations, these outstanding advantages of myinvention will be attained.

What I claim as new is:

l. An upholstered article comprising a rigid member, removableupholstery and, a separable slide fastener having one side thereofsecured to said rigid member and the other side secured to theupholstery.

' i?. An upholstered article as defined in claim l in which theupholstery is tailored to t accurately the part of said article which isto be covered thereby and is drawn snugly thereover by the slidefastener.

3. An upholstered article as defined in claim 1 in which the rigidmember is grooved to receive the edge of the upholstery and the edge ofthe slide fastener is. secured therein whereby the upholstery is heldsubyond the line along which it is joined to the I slide fastenerwhereby the free edge of said stiffened portion is held substantiallyaligned with the fabric by a cantilever action.

5. An upholstered article comprising reiesI

